Dragon Ball Z 1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Still don't own DBZ,

**This is the official first chapter. If you wish to read a slight prequel, (or what I had first made as the first chapter) See my profile, and click on "What's in a name" **

**Anyway, this is a B/V that has Trunks along for the ride. Though, as it says on my profile, it's more of a "How can my life get any worse" fic for Trunks, and less of a B/V. But there is some cutesy romance in it.**

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**Stuck in Time; Chapter one**

**Still a Teenager.**

The time-machine gave a funny jolt, pushing Trunks forward and causing him to hit his head on the front window. After muttering a few curses to himself, he inspected the stats of the machine.

"Everything looks fine…" He mused, scanning the controls. It was then he noticed a red light blinking. "That cannot be good…" He pulled out an inch thick manual his mother wrote, and had told him to read before he used the time machine.

He didn't read past the first chapter.

He may be the only person standing between the androids and complete world destruction, but he was still a teenager.

Trunks sighed. How nice it was of his mother to put a chapter entitled 'Red Flashing Lights; Trunks, MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER, IF NOTHING ELSE!' He quickly flipped to the indicated pages. Finding the red flashing light he was experiencing, he read "Land now. Read later."

How great of her. She even knew that the only reason Trunks would be reading about the red flashing lights was if one was flashing. Checking how far he had made it, he decided it was better if he just turn back and go where he just came from. He couldn't just land anywhere. His mother had clearly told him that there always had to be a 20 year difference between him and his past self. Something about every time he went to another time he was creating an alternate reality or something.

When he found himself in the time he was supposed to be in, he quickly started to land. Without warning, half the ship made odd sounds, like a wire short-circuiting, followed by a series of small explosions.

"Shit." Trunks hissed, covering his head and neck with his arms and preparing for impact as he lost control of the vehicle.

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Piccolo continued his explanation of what was to come in three years, while everyone listened on with scared expressions. He stopped suddenly, as he heard a loud crash behind him. He turned, and quite a distance away was the form of the lavender haired boy, climbing out of the charred and beat up remains of his time machine.

Piccolo turned to Goku, indicating that he go and see what was up with the boy. Goku nodded and flew over. Everyone watched for a second, before turning back to Piccolo and waiting to hear the rest of his story.

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"….stupid…" Trunks panted, slamming his foot into the machine "…worthless…" with each word, the ship got another boot shaped dent "…piece…of…JUNK!" He yelled, giving it one last kick for good measure.

He turned away from the machine, deciding that just looking at it was bad for his psyche. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, taking a few claming breaths.

"Hey Trunks!" Goku called out to him. Trunks turned his head to look at the approaching Saiyan.

"Hey." He mumbled, obviously not please with the situation at hand.

"What's wrong? I thought you left."

Trunks had to stare at the man before him. Did he not see the ruins of his time-machine?

"Um…I'm kinda having some…technical difficulties…" he explained, turning back to the machine.

"Do you think you can fix it?"

Trunks looked at the manual that had been thrown to the floor in all the commotion.

"Maybe…But I'd need somewhere to work on it that has any materials I might need…" He mumbled, mostly to himself. He knew what this meant. He would have to go to Capsule Corps. But, he really didn't want to.

"Where could we find a place like that?" Said Goku, lost in thought. Trunks gaped at him. His mother had told him that Goku wasn't what one would call 'smart', but this? This was insane.

"Uh…I could just go to Capsule Corps…But I'd have to be really careful…you know."

"Yeah…" Goku agreed. "Well, I guess I can go talk to Bulma about it. C'mon." Goku said, getting ready to go back to the group.

"Sure. Just let me pack up here." He turned to the machine. He bent down to hit the button on the side of the machine to capsulize it.

Nothing happened.

Trunks stared at the machine. His left eye gave a small twitch, and the vein on his forehead popped out a little.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU WORTHLESS PILE OF SCRAP METAL!!???" He yelled at the machine, his hands balled into fists, and his foot kicking it mercilessly once again.

"WHEN I SAY CAPSULIZE, YOU HAD BETTER DAMN WELL CAPSULIZE!!!" He slammed his heel onto the capsulation button. With a huge puff of smoke, the large time-machine was reduced to a tiny capsule. He pushed his bangs back again, picking up the capsule, and walking towards where Goku had been standing.

The Earth-raised Saiyan got out from behind the rock he had used to hide himself during Trunks' outburst.

"Heh…You weren't kidding when you said Bulma and Vegeta are your parents."

"Yeah." Trunks said, his anger forgotten. "Mom always says I remind her of my dad, but Gohan always said I reminded him of mom…"

"There's definitely both of them in you…" Goku said, his nerves calmed from the near heart-attack Trunks had given him. When they had first met, Goku couldn't see how this shy, quiet teen could be related to Bulma and Vegeta in any way, but now…

"So, are we going?" Trunks asked Goku, who was staring blankly.

"What? Oh yeah. Let's go."

Goku and Trunks flew back to where everyone was standing, waiting for them. Piccolo was done telling his story, so everyone was looking intently at Trunks. The teen blushed deeply. This was exactly was he wanted to avoid.

"Look guys" Goku started, sensing the questions everyone was going to ask. "Let's just leave the kid alone. He's not really supposed to be here. His time-machine is just on the fritz."

Trunks blushed even deeper, everyone was still staring at him, and Goku's little speech didn't really help that matter.

"Bulma, Tr- er, the kid here was wondering if he could stay at Capsule Corps. until he can repair his machine…you know, since you have the labs and anything he might need."

Bulma blinked. "Yeah, sure, you can stay with us. That is, if you can handle living under the same roof as His Royal Highness." She pointed at Vegeta, who 'humphed' at the comment.

"Uh…yeah. It won't be a problem." Trunks said quickly. With everyone staring at him, Trunks quickly made to change the topic. "Hey, Goku. Can you show us that thing you were talking about…Instant Transmission or something??"

"Yes, and I'd like to know how you got off Planet Namek!" Vegeta cut in.

Goku quickly told his story, and it wasn't long before everyone was saying their goodbyes.

"Uh…Bye Bulma…and, um…Have a healthy baby" Goku yelled before flying away. Trunks smacked his own forehead. Really, he would have to talk to his mother about the difference between 'not smart' and 'all around moron'. Thankfully, no one noticed his reaction to what Goku said. Yamcha started talking about how Goku was implying that he and Bulma start a family. Trunks just ignored it completely and waited for them to start leaving.

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"Here ya go, kid." Bulma said, opening a door to a bedroom. Trunks had to smile. This was actually his bedroom in his own time. It gave a sense of home, even though he really wasn't home.

"We're going to have to come up with a name for you." She mused, looking over the room to make sure everything was in order.

'uh…'Kid' is fine, really. I don't mind." Trunks said, unbuckling his sword and putting it on the bed.

"Ok, Kiddo, have it your way." She smiled before leaving Trunks alone in his room. The teen sat on the bed, taking in a few moments of relaxation before he jumped up again and headed downstairs, to find out where he could work on his ship. The sooner he got back to his own time, the better.

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Trunks stumbled up the stairs, out of the lab he had been working in. He walked into the living room, and plopped down on a sofa chair. He ran his hands through his matted hair, working the grease on his hands into his knotted locks as well.

Bulma came into the room, stifling a gasp when she saw the kid.

"What the hell did you do? You look like crap!" She exclaimed, hurrying to get him out of the chair and to a shower…or a hose at least.

It was true. He did look like crap. There were dark grease stains on his face, hands and clothes. His hair was so unkempt and filthy that it had turned a much darker shade of purple. There were dark bags under his eyes, and he looked a bit bonier.

Sure, no one had seen him surface from the lab in about a week, but they had assumed he left every now and then when no one was there. He looked as though he hadn't slept or eaten at all. Bulma absently wondered if he had even taken the time to…relieve himself.

Trunks allowed himself to be pulled into a washroom, and to have towels, soap, and shampoo thrown at him. 'Mother knows best' he thought to himself, attempting to refrain from falling asleep where he stood. Everything was catching up to him, like it always, inevitably, did.

An hour later, Trunks came down the stairs, looking much better than he had going up. He found his mother in the kitchen, reading a science journal. Bulma smiled at him, liking his clean appearance.

"So? As worried as I am about your health, I also have to ask what made you suddenly come out of your hole and allow yourself a break?" She asked, getting strait to the point. Trunks sighed, grabbing an apple to snack on; his first 'meal' in a week.

"Well, I know what's wrong with the hunk of junk, but unfortunately, I don't have the means, nor the knowledge, to fix it."

"What do you mean?" asked Bulma. There was nothing in the world, science related, that couldn't be found somewhere in Capsule Corps.

"Well, the metal used to make one of the parts I need to fix won't be discovered for another year. And, I can't really say where it's going to be found, because that would mess with the space-time continuum even more."

Bulma nodded. Ok, so there were things that couldn't be found in Capsule Corps.

"And, the other parts needed, even if I _do_ find them somewhere in this time, I have no where near the expertise needed to put it together. The only person who would know how is my mother; my mother from my time." Trunks added, seeing the look on Bulma's face. "and, I don't even have a way of contacting her, to tell her I'm ok, or to ask her for help. Long distance calls don't really cover time." Trunks smiled. Suddenly, the thought hit him. He jumped up from his chair, and raced down to the lab, Bulma at his heals. He had an idea, and she was intrigued.

"The main parts that are ruined in the time machine aren't necessarily time related. So, in theory, if I can duplicate the time traveling mechanism and put it into another devise, like a phone, for example, and just fix it so that only my voice is carried across time, then I should be able to talk to my mother from this time." He explained, fiddling with parts of the machine.

Bulma watched him, mentally absorbing what he had just said. She blinked in understanding, then moved to help him as much as she could. Sure, she didn't really understand the time-machine all that much, but there was something she could do.

"Here" she said, after less than an hour, handing him a cell phone she had just built. "It'll only accept calls from one number, so just set it to whatever your mother's phone number is, and it can only make outgoing calls to that same number, so it's completely private. It's not listed in any directory, and you won't have to pay any phone bills." She winked at him. Trunks smiled back in thanks, and continued his work on the mimicking the mechanics in the time-machine.

Bulma left him alone to his work. A part of her wanted to insist he go to bed, taking over for the role as mother to him, seeing how desperately he needed one, but the scientist inside her stopped her. She knew what it was like to have one of those ideas. If she sent him to bed then, he may lose his drive.

She checked the clock. It was already past midnight. She absently looked out the window to Capsule 3. She hadn't seen Vegeta in a while as well. He was just so obsessed with becoming a Super Saiyan.

"Damn Saiyans, and their damn lack of self caring." She muttered, walking up to her room. She would deal with both houseguests in the morning. But, first, she needed her sleep.

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Trunks walked up the stairs, falling into the wall a few times. It was well past 3 am, and he was extremely tired, but happy. He had finished the phone. He would try it out in the morning. Bed first. He looked up at the stairs he still had to cover, and sighed.

"Now I remember why I was happy when the androids destroyed half of this house. It got rid of a lot of the stairs. Mom's nuts." He murmured, deciding to spend the night on the couch instead of pulling himself up the rest of the stairs.

"What are you still doing up?" A voice from behind startled him.

"Huh? Oh, hi Vegeta." He whispered, too tired to speak any louder.

"Go to bed. Your weakling body can't handle any more time without sleep." Vegeta chided him, sounding quite serious, yet still mocking him all the same. Trunks just nodded.

"Yeah. G'night." He mumbled before collapsing on the couch.

Vegeta shook his head. "Weakling." He spat, before he fell onto the sofa chair, unconscious.

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**Eh. Random Father/Son bonding to end with. Enjoy. Next chapter: Trunks uses the phone for the first time. Will it work? And what will his mother say when she finds out what her son did to the time-machine? (…well, that just gave away the answer to the first question)**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

**Another chappy. Enjoy some'or.**

Bulma made her way down the stairs. It was pretty early in the morning, even by her standards, and to her, any time after 8 was late.

She wandered into the living room, gasping when she saw what awaited her there. On the couch, sprawled out and looking quite content, was the boy from the future. And, curled up on the sofa chair, still looking as angry and on guard as ever, even while sleeping, was the mighty Saiyan Prince. Bulma wanted to take a picture so badly, but she was sure it would wake one, of not both, up. She sighed, and walked into the kitchen, where her mother was smiling happily.

"Bulma dear, did you see those sweet young men sleeping in the living room?" She asked, bubbly as ever. Bulma had to hold her tongue. Sure, the future kid was very nice, and well mannered; a real sweet-heart. But Vegeta…SWEET? The words could not be put in the same sentence without 'killed someone who called him' in there as well.

"I hope they won't mind, but I snapped a shot of them." Bunny's ever-present smile widened as she pulled out a camera.

"You didn't wake them?" Bulma asked incredulously. Bunny shook her head.

"No dear. It's your father's latest invention. Silent Cameras, so you can catch those adorable moment's without waking up the people involved!"

Bulma pulled the camera out of her mother's hand. "If Vegeta ever finds out we have this, he'll kill us." She smirked at her mother. "Best not to let him know, then." Bunny just turned back to the meal she was making.

It wasn't long before both Trunks and Vegeta woke up. Vegeta was positively dumbfounded at the fact that he had let his guard down, and allowed himself to fall asleep on a couch. Trunks, however, was beginning to hyperventilate. What the hell was he supposed to say to his mother? 'Hey Mom! Remember how you told me to be extra careful with the Time-machine because if it broke, I may not have a way of fixing it? Well, guess what?!'

He settled for eating, then thinking.

"So, Kid, were you able to finish the phone?" Bulma asked. Trunks held it up for her to see.

"Yep, all that's left is making the call, and facing my mother's wrath." he smiled.

"Well, good luck." Bulma said, getting up from the table. Trunks too got up, and made his way to his room. It was now or never.

He dialed the number, hoping against hope the phone at the present Capsule Corps. didn't start ringing. He held his breath when the phone started to ring on the other line. He relaxed a bit when he didn't hear a ringing nearby, but he wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Hello?" came his mother's voice.

"Mom?" His voice cracked a bit. He really missed her.

"Trunks? Sweetie, is that you? Where are you? How did things go in the past?"

"Um…great…things are great…"

"'are great'?" Bulma's stern voice gave Trunks shivers. "You mean you haven't left yet?"

"Um…Mom, please don't freak out-"

"Why am I going to freak out?"

"Well, um, hopefully you won't, since I asked you so nicely…?" He said in a questioning tone, more hopeful than anything.

"What happened, Trunks?"

"The Time machine is completely busted. It won't work, the parts I need to replace either A) can't be found in this time, or B) can't be put into the machine unless you're…well, you." He said quickly.

"What did you do?" She asked, very exasperated.

"Nothing. I didn't do anything! Well, um, actually, at first, there really wasn't that much wrong. I mean, it was fixable, but then when I crashed..."

"YOU CRASHED?!" Bulma yelled at him.

'Yeah, but I'm fine, and the machine wasn't that bad either, but then…"

"Don't tell me…" Bulma sighed. "You got fed up with the machine and took out all your frustrations on it? You are so much like your father it's scary."

"Well, yeah." Trunks admitted. "But everything else is great. I killed Frieza, gave Goku the heart medicine, they know about the androids, and I'm not in immediate danger of not being born. Plus, I met my dad, and built a phone that can call across time. Pretty good for a week's worth, ne?" He said, evidently proud of himself.

"Yeah, except every second you spend there, you're disturbing the time line even more, and, since you can't rebuild the time machine, I'm going to have to build another one here, then, I won't even be able to get it to you until you're born, because if I suddenly appear there, claiming to be your mother that's not going to look good, and you probably won't be born."

Trunks took a second to work out what she said. "I don't get it."

Bulma sighed.

"I can't come to the past Trunks, or someone will recognize me. Then they'll know who your mother is, and that will lead to questions about who your father is. And then, if we do manage to dodge _that_ bullet, it won't matter. The damage will be done. So, I'll have to wait until you're born, or at least conceived, until I come there, with either a new time machine, or the means of fixing yours."

Trunks finally understood.

"And also, Trunks," Bulma started again "We're going to have to talk a lot. You need to be prepared for what's going to happen between me and Vegeta. You need to know when you can get involved, and when you have to let things be. So, you're going to have to talk to me every day."

"Kay, mom." He agreed. "I will."

"Ok, bye Trunks. Get some sleep. If I know you, you haven't slept all week and have been trying to find a way home."

Trunks gave a small chuckle. "Uh, yeah. Bye mom." He hung up, fell into his bed, and got some more sleep.

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It had been only three days. Three. Not that much, and already, Trunks was going to explode.

"Gary" "no" "Robert" "no" "Bill" "no" "Dave" "no" "Why can't you just tell me?" "Because I can't." "Hmmm…All the names I've been saying don't really fit you, do they?" "Obviously not." "Well, I'll just have to try harder!"

Trunks had to commend his mother's spirit, but still, this was just annoying. Finally, it hit that day. Day 4. THE day.

"I got it!" Bulma cried, staring at Trunks from across the dinner table.

"What?" he sighed, prepared to hear her try to convince him that his name was "Vlad" or something.

"Trunks!" She shouted triumphantly. Trunks froze. She knew by his reaction that she was right.

"I knew it! It just hit me! The name suits you so well! Well, actually, I had another guess, but this seemed more likely." She said, chuckling. Trunks was still frozen. After a few seconds, he was able to talk again.

"What was your other guess?" He had to ask, though he was afraid of the answer.

"You'll probably laugh." She said, blushing slightly. "I dunno, I was just watching you eat yesterday, and it hit me how much you look like Vegeta, and I absently thought that might work as your name. It does suit you, you know." She said, not realizing Trunks had stopped all movement, and all the colour had left his face.

"Um, Kid? Trunks?" She asked, after 5 minutes, his expression still there. "Geez, I had no idea comparing him to Vegeta would have this affect."

So that was that. Everyone knew his name, and Trunks did not like it. Of course, his mother hadn't helped at all when he told her what had happened.

"If you're quite finished yet!" He said, after listening to his mother laugh hysterically for a good 10 minutes.

"It's funny!" she cried, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I fail to see the humour." He said coldly.

"B-but…She thought your name was….your name…Vegeta!" She got out through laughs.

"I will hang up, you know."

"Oh fine. But it IS funny. I will never let you live this down, Veggie." She said, calming down, but the humour still in her voice. Trunks sighed.

"So, is anything supposed to happen soon?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, me and Yamcha should get into a big fight soon. We won't break up, but it is where I make the decision that I have to break up with him soon. It might be better that you don't get involved. I stay with him longer than I want to because I don't want to be alone. If you're there for me, I may have the strength to break up with him sooner, which may screw things up."

"Kay'. Trunks said simply, not liking the fact that his mother will be upset and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. "I gotta go, bye mom."

"Bye Veggie" Bulma chuckled again before hanging up.

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Another week had passed. Though Trunks was upset that Bulma blew his cover, he was enjoying the fact that she had stopped harassing him to find out his name. But he really didn't have time to enjoy that. He had been avoiding her. Finally, he got the clearance from his mother that it was ok for him to go talk to her.

"Hey." He said, walking into the kitchen, where she was absently staring out the window. Trunks wondered if she even knew she was watching Vegeta do warm up exorcizes.

"Hi Trunks." She smiled at him. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. I would just like to tell you that you nearly killed my mother." He smiled back at her. She gave a confused look. "Well, I told her about you guessing my name, and what you thought it was, and she was laughing to hard she nearly suffocated. And, I would also have you know that she now calls me 'Veggie'."

Bulma gave a light laugh. "Oh well, sorry Trunks."

Trunks smiled wider. Thank goodness. The mood was lighter.

"You haven't been training." Bulma said suddenly.

"Uh…I really don't have anywhere to train. I've actually been enjoying the peace a bit. I guess I am slacking off…" He finished awkwardly.

"Well, you need to train, don't you? I mean, not to the extent Vegeta does, but still."

Trunks shrugged, but then, as if the two were in cahoots, Vegeta burst through the door.

"Boy. Come with me. Training. Now." He said, walking back out.

"Well…I guess that solves that problem…" Bulma smiled.

"That…that doesn't make sense…" Trunks mumbled. Bulma gave him an odd look, but otherwise ignored him. She was somewhat used to the fact that Trunks talked to himself a lot.

His mother had always told him that Vegeta never trained with anyone. No one was worthy to train with the great Saiyan Prince. Pushing all rational thought aside, Trunks made his way to Capsule 3, deciding that, no matter what was wrong with this picture, he really didn't want to disobey Vegeta.

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Trunks woke up in his bed. "Week 4. It has officially been one month" He mumbled to himself.

Things had changed a lot in the last few weeks. For one, Trunks had adopted a training schedule. Well, more like Vegeta ever so nicely gave him the choice of 'train or perish' He chose train.

His mother had assured him that Vegeta was probably training with him so that he could attempt to find some great secret to being Super Saiyan, and that it was probably good for him to spend time with Vegeta.

He went into the living room, finding the Senior Briefs there already, as well as Bulma.

"Where's Vegeta?" He asked.

"Where else? Training." Bulma scoffed. "That man is going to kill himself one of these days, training under 300 times earth's gravity." The entire house a jolt just as the words left her.

"What was that?" She said, worry in her voice. It only took seconds for them to realize it was the gravity room.

Bulma raced out of the house, Yamcha on her heals. Trunks was about to follow, but his cell phone rang. He quickly picked it up.

"Mom?" He asked. She heard the worry and urgency in his voice, and knew she called too late.

"Trunks, leave it alone. Don't help. This is really important."

"But…mom…"

"Trunks." The finality in her voice ended the conversation.'

"Kay." He said, hanging up.

He looked out the window, watching as Vegeta tried in vain to get up, just to fall and be cradled by Bulma. Trunks gave a small smile. This was actually quite fun to watch, but still. He wanted to be there. Things had changed in this time. What if Vegeta didn't make it, or something? Then what?

Trunks shoved his pessimistic thoughts out of his head, and resigned himself to worry patiently, letting things run their course.

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Two more months had passed. According to his mother, the new Time-machine for Trunks was almost done, so all that was left was waiting for Trunks to be conceived. Something the teen was not looking forward to. But, all that aside, the 18 year old had something else to worry about. No, it wasn't the fact that Bulma was going to break up with Yamcha in less than a year, nor was it that Bulma and Vegeta were literally one year and 3 months away from…well, you know. No, it was the fact that today was his birthday. It would be his first birthday away from his mother, corny as that sounds.

He walked through the halls of Capsule Corp. to the kitchen, clearly upset. Apparently, he wasn't the only one.

"Hey Trunks." Bulma sighed.

"What's up?" He fell into a chair.

"Nothing. You?"

"Nothing."

"You both sound miserable. Weakling human emotions." Vegeta scoffed. This was the first time in a while he had graced them with his presence.

"Me and Yamcha are fighting again." Bulma sighed.

"It's my birthday." Trunks sighed.

Vegeta stared at the boy.

"Why are you so depressed that it's your birthday?" He asked. Weren't only middle aged women upset that they got older?

"Because, no one here knows. And I'm pretty sure my mom forgot in all the commotion, otherwise she would have called me by now. And I don't want to call her and tell her."

"Poor kid." Bulma said, frowning at him. She suddenly brightened. "I know! I'll bake you a cake!" She ran to the cupboards, pulling stuff out to bake with.

"Thanks, but you don't have to…" Trunks said, being polite. To be honest, he would LOVE a cake at this point.

"Don't be silly. This is perfect. You get a birthday cake, and I get something to take my mind of Yamcha. And, hey, since I'm in such a good mood now, I'll even let Vegeta have some!"

"You have a deal." Vegeta said, humour in his voice, something extremely rare. Trunks guessed it had something to do with the prospect of cake.

And hour or so later, the odd little family (two of it's member's not even knowing it was a family) ate cake happily, to celebrate Trunks turning 19 years old, Bulma getting over her fight with Yamcha in less than a day, and Vegeta getting cake.

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**So, if you couldn't tell, I was extremely hungry while writing that last part. I have had a cake craving for the last two weeks.**

**Bleh. The chapter sounded so much better when I wrote it compared to rereading it now. Well, hope you all (or at least SOMEONE!) enjoyed! Next chapter coming soon! (Damn. I want cake...)  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

**More chappies to enjoy!**

Trunks wandered down the halls of Capsule Corp. Something was defiantly up. He stopped when he heard someone crying around the corner he was about to turn. He was about to go find out what was going on, but another voice stopped him.

"You shouldn't cry over that weakling. You knew this was coming."

He recognized his father's voice. He remained hidden behind the wall, not wanting to interrupt the scene, but also wanting to hear this.

"But still…it hurts." Bulma sobbed. Vegeta made a sound of disgust. "I know." She sighed, "Pitiful human emotions."

"True, you are stuck with these pathetic feelings, but it's how you act upon them that counts. You can cry like the weakling you are, or you can get up, and show your small amount of strength."

Bulma gave a small chuckle. "It's amazing how you can make someone feel better, even though you insulted them about 4 times."

"3, to be exact. Now, get up, and make me something to eat."

Bulma laughed again. "Of course. How dare my pathetic feelings come before your hunger?"

"Only took you 6 months of me living here to figure that one out? You learn faster than I thought you could."

"Well, I _am_ the smartest woman on the planet! " Bulma bragged, apparently over Yamcha.

"So you say. Yet, despite what you claim, you are still sitting here and not making me food." said Vegeta, humour in his voice.

"Fine. I'm moving already!"

Trunks took this as his cue to exit, and left silently, greatly pleased with what he had just heard.

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Trunks ticked off another day on his calendar, and flipped the page to the next month. He had been there for a year and 5 months.

Nothing really big had happened since Bulma broke up with Yamcha. All that changed was that Yamcha wasn't hanging around the house as much. Nothing big there. There were subtle things, like Bulma reaching to get something from the top shelf in the kitchen, and Vegeta flying up and getting it for her. Or when Bulma spent an entire day to make longer lasting training robots for Vegeta, even though he didn't ask…or demand, as he usually did.

They were all little things that most people (including Bulma and Vegeta) thought nothing of, but meant a lot to Trunks. Every time he noticed something like that, he gave a small smile, and proceeded to tell his mother exactly what happened. She, of course, was always happy to hear the latest in her relationship. She found it quite fun to relive her love life.

Trunk was beginning to get worried though. That inevitable day was fast approaching. It was less than a month away before he would be conceived. He really needed an escape route. Once again, I bring up that, though a savior of the world, he was still a teenager, and no teenager wants to think about his parents…like that, conceiving _him_, no less.

It was arranged that Trunks would be at Goku's house for the week. The excuse he gave was that he hadn't seen Goku at all, and he wanted to go see him for a while. Plus, he felt he should give Bulma a break. She was housing enough people, right? Bulma was reluctant to let him leave, having grown used to his presence, but Trunks insisted.

"Ok, I'm leaving now!" Trunks called to them, right before he left. It was time. In about three days, he would be conceived.

"Be careful. And please, I beg of you, DO NOT EAT ANY OF GOKU'S COOKING!" Bulma yelled at him.

"I won't. I promise." Said the teen, holding up his right hand.

After a few more vows to Bulma, Trunks finally got to leave.

"Hey! Trunks!" Goku called to him from the ground, and Trunks flew near him.

"Hey Goku. Sorry to bother you like this…"

"It's ok. We love having company!" Goku smiled. "Me, Gohan and Piccolo were just training. Want to join us?"

"Sure." Trunks agreed, and off they went to train.

Meanwhile, back at Capsule Corps.

"So…the boy's gone…"

"Yeah…"

"…"

"Um…you want something to eat…?"

"Sure….Where are your parents??"

"They left for the week…on vacation…"

"So…it's just us two?"

"Yep…just us…"

"Uh huh…"

They both stared at each other, blinked, then ran off in different directions. They both had to clear their minds of bad, bad thoughts.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Hey. I'm….home…" Trunks called, after the week was up. Instead of some sort of welcome, or even an "Oh. You're back" he got:

"Dammit Vegeta! What did I tell you? BE CAREFUL WITH THE GRAVITY ROOM! It can't handle your…well, it can't handle YOU!"

"Then make one that CAN handle...me."

"I have a life outside of you, you stupid monkey!"

"You won't have a life at all if the androids kill you, which they might if I can't train! And without a good gravity chamber, I can't, now can I?"

Bulma looked like she was about to punch Vegeta in the nose, but luckily, she noticed Trunks before she could.

"Hey, you're back! What's new?"

"Er…nothing. I'm just going to…go…now. Carry on your fight." He mumbled, before running to his room. Was there anyway at all he could know that he was conceived on time? According to his mother: the answer was no.

"Sorry Kiddo. Nothing really changed between us until I found out I was pregnant."

"Great. So for all we know, I don't even exist in this time yet! Perfect!"

"Well, I should find out about two weeks from now, so you'll know then. So just wait."

And so he did. Two weeks came and went, and Trunks was getting really anxious, until that oh-so-wonderful day arrived.

"Um…Hey, Trunks…Have you seen Vegeta?" Bulma asked him, looking happy, nervous, afraid, sad, pleased, and a whole lot of other emotions at once.

"Yeah. He's in the GR. Do you want me to get him?" Trunks asked, guessing, knowing and hoping what she wanted him for.

"Uh…yeah. That would be nice…"

A few moments later, Trunks came back with Vegeta, who was grumbling about his training being cut short.

"Uh…I'll just leave you two alone…" Trunks said, turning to leave.

"No. Wait Trunks. I want you to be here too." Bulma smiled at him. Trunks hesitated, then took a seat at the table where Bulma and Vegeta were already sitting.

"I have some…news…" She started. "Um…Vegeta…remember that night a few weeks ago…when Trunks was gone, and I- We…um…" She struggled getting the words out. Normally, Vegeta would have acted stupid, letting her continue struggling, but noticing the young teen's face turning a shade a pale, then green as he looked as though he was about to gag, he decided against it.

"Yes. I remember. Carry on."

"Well…um…You…uh…know how reproduction works…right?"

Trunks felt the need to slam his head against the table. What a _great_ way of saying it! Vegeta seemed to understand.

"You don't mean that…you can't be…"

"Yeah. I'm pregnant."

Vegeta just stared. Then stared some more. Then he just got up and left, mumbling something about training.

Bulma stared after him, sighed, then turned to Trunks.

"So…are YOU happy for me?" She asked. Trunks nodded, and gave her a small hug.

"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out fine." Trunks smiled.

"You think?" She asked, incredibly nervous.

"I know." He smiled again. This seemed to cheer her up, and she left for her room.

Trunks sat back down. Mentally, he did a little happy dance. He was going to be born! Yay! But, he still had other things to worry about. He now faced the task of telling his parents that…they're his parents. He figured Bulma would start jumping around and saying things like "I knew it! I knew you looked WAY too much like Vegeta!" As for Vegeta…well, that could work out one of two ways. One) He wouldn't care and would leave to go train or Two) He'd be pissed that Trunks had been living under his (Bulma's) roof and didn't tell him.

The teen sighed and made his was to his room. He'd tell his mom what was going on, and ask her for advice. But he knew she'd tell him to tell them ASAP. Whereas Trunks was more in favour of the 'wait until the last minute' plan. Either way, the kid had a lot of thinking to do.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Trunks. Tell them." Bulma's stern, motherly voice said to him.

"B-But…If YOU were in my position, would you want to tell them? Keeping in mind who we're talking about"

"Okay. I see your point. But you STILL have to tell them."

"But I don't wanna!"

"Then you're stuck there. And eventually, they'll find out anyway."

"True." Trunks sighed.

"Tell me when you've told them. Then I'll come to see you and you fix your time machine."

Trunks smiled into the phone. "I have an idea-"

"No!" Bulma immediately dismissed it. "YOU broke the time machine, YOU can handle the dirty work!"

Trunks let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

So, it had been two months, and still, Trunks hadn't told them. He walked in on the 'happy couple' 'discussing' the gender of their child.

"IT'S A GIRL!"

"BOY!"

"GIRL!"

"BOY!"

"It's a girl! Women have an intuition about these things!"

"It's a boy! That's final! If it's a girl, we're putting it back in until it's finished!"

"Babies don't work like that, Vegeta!" Bulma sighed at him.

"We'll see!" the man said darkly.

"Hi!" Trunks smiled brightly at them.

"What do YOU think?" Bulma asked him. "Boy or girl?" She smiled sweetly.

"Boy." Trunks said bluntly. Bulma's demeanor completely changed.

"FINE! SIDE WITH THE MONKEY, WHY DON'T YOU!"

Trunks blinked. "By your reasoning, I'm also a monkey, so by all means..." Trunks trailed off, backing up a bit at the angry glare coming from his soon-to-be mother.

"Why'd you say a boy?" She asked suddenly.

'It's now or never' Trunks thought sulkily. He opened his mouth to explain when Bulma let out a joyful screech.

"NAMES! SHE NEEDS A NAME!"

"HE!" Vegeta and Trunks corrected at the same time. Bulma waved them off.

"I like the name Bra…" She said dreamily. Father and Son exchanged disgusted glares.

"I like the name Vegeta." The soon-to-be father glared at the mother of his child.

"OOH! I have a great idea!" Bulma yelled, causing Trunks and Vegeta to wince. "Since YOU'RE so sure it's a boy, and I KNOW it's a girl, we can make a bet!" She smiled brightly. Trunks blanched. This couldn't be good. "If it's a boy, we'll name him Vegeta. When it ends up a girl, we'll name her Bra!"

Trunks went paler.

"Dea-" Vegeta was about to agree before he was interrupted by a loud bellow of "NO!"

Trunks was hyperventilating. He DID NOT like the idea of being named Vegeta. That was just weird. Plus, didn't people usually grow into their names?? He was struck with the horrible image of his hairline reclining and hair sticking strait up. Physically having to stop his hand from reaching up to ensure his silky, limp hair was the way it should be, he turned to the couple staring at him.

"What?" Bulma asked, confused. Trunks took a deep breath.

"You CAN'T name HIM Bra or Vegeta." He said very forcefully.

"And WHY not?" Bulma and Vegeta interrogated in unison. Trunks calmed himself.

"Because he already HAS a name." The both looked at him like he was insane. He rolled his eyes. "I'm from the future! Remember!" They blinked in understanding.

"OOOH!" Bulma cried. "So you know my baby??"

"Yes. Quite well, actually." He smirked at his own joke. He vaguely noticed the suspicious glare Vegeta was sending his way.

"Really? So does he survive the android attacks???" She asked, eyes widening. Trunks gave her a reassuring nod.

"Of course."

Vegeta took a step forward. "So, what exactly is his name, _Trunks?_"

Trunks lost the little colour in his face he had regained. He took a deep breath.

"It's Trunks."

He waited for the inevitable responses. He could practically hear, feel, smell and even TASTE the glare Vegeta was sending at him. He looked to Bulma for support, but only found confusion.

"I didn't think Trunks was that popular of a name…But two kids, born around the same time with the same unique name…bizarre."

Vegeta lost his glare and just stared, open mouthed at Bulma. Trunks lost his fear of the glare and stared at her as well.

"Yes, that is weird." Vegeta said, still looking at her. "They would be born around the same year, at the same time as well, considering the day the child is due, and his" He pointed at Trunks "birthday. Not to mention they'd both have Saiyan blood, look strikingly like me, aside from eyes inherited from you and hair from your father."

Bulma considered the description. "Vegeta, you couldn't possibly know what our son will look like-" Realization dawned on her. "Ohhhhh!"

She turned to Trunks. "Wow! My little boy is going to be so HOT when he grows up!" Trunks resisted the urge to gag. "OOH! I'm so sorry!" Bulma said suddenly. "You must have been so uncomfortable when we were waiting for Goku and I was hitting on you!"

"Yeah, a little."

"So, the person who you're always talking to on the phone…is…me?" Bulma asked.

"Yeah."

"Wow! Can I talk to her! Please!" Bulma begged like a child. Trunks blinked. "Sure. Just call the number for Capsule Corps." Bulma nodded before bounding off to his room to get his phone, leaving father and son alone.

"So," Vegeta said, his voice filled with venom. "Is there a reason why you didn't tell us?"

Trunks gulped. "If I told you, I wouldn't have been born."

"After you knew you were conceived?" Vegeta pounced on the fault in the excuse.

"I was…nervous."

Vegeta spat at the floor. "Bullshit. You were afraid."

Trunks looked at his feet. "If I was _afraid_ it was because I didn't want to deal with your reactions!"

"That's still no excuse!"

"But try to put yourself in my position! And keep in mind that you'd be dealing with the two most stubborn people on the planet!"

Vegeta considered it for a moment. "Tell me. Who were you more afraid to tell? Me, or Bulma?"

"You." Trunks blurted out quickly, earning a chuckle from Vegeta. "Mom may be crazy, but I'm at least used to it. I can somewhat predict what she's going to do! But with you, I'm at a loss. Not only are you MORE insane than Mom, which is a feat in itself, but I know absolutely nothing about how your brain works! Hell, I know absolutely nothing about you!"

Vegeta thought for a moment. It was weird, hearing someone call Bulma 'Mom'. The boy's words sunk in a bit more. That was true. He had died before Trunks got a chance to meet him. To Trunks, Vegeta was unknown territory, and everyone, to some extent, fears the unknown. As long as one knows what they're up against, they have an advantage.

Vegeta sighed. "I SUPPOSE that it's excusable. But you better put in triple the effort in training today! No son of mine will be a slacker!"

'No son of mine'; the words sounded so odd to him.

Trunks smiled. "Of course…Dad…"

Vegeta chuckled. "Stick to 'Father' for now. 'Dad' sounds too familiar, and we've already established we're strangers to each other."

Trunks nodded. "Right."

Before the conversation could continue, Bulma came bounding down the stairs, chatting ecstatically on the phone.

"Really? He said that??" she said, shooting Vegeta a smile. "That's so sweet! I would have never expected him to say something so loving!!"

Coming to the conclusion that Bulma was talking about him, Vegeta shouted at her. "What did I say?? Bulma!" He called, irritated when she waved her hand at him, telling him to shut up.

"_Really?_ Are you SURE we're talking about the same Vegeta??"

"Bulma!" Vegeta yelled again in vain. Shooting him a playful wink, she ran from the room, leaving him to chase after her to wrestle the phone from her grip so he could find out what the hell he was accused of saying.

Trunks just stood alone in the room.

"Father…" he whispered lightly, the word sounding so foreign to him. He gave a sad smile before running up the stairs to his room.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**So ends another chapter. So, Vegeta and Bulma know Trunks is their son. What will happen next?! Find out in the next, and possibly last, chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ. Please don't sue.**

**sniff the LAST chapter. So bitter/sweet.  
**

**Many apologies for the wait. I had a lot of stuff going on. Realistically, I've had this chapter done and uploaded onto fanfic for a good four months, it's just taken me a while to a) remember it was here; b) proofread and c) get the nerve to post the LAST CHAPTER!  
**

Vegeta noticed as Trunks slowly inched a bit back, behind him. "Afraid?" he sneered at the boy. Trunks shot him a glare, but otherwise didn't answer. They watched as a time machine descended to the earth. Trunks took another step behind his father, closer to the front door of the house.

Trunks' mother had finally come to the past to repair her son's time machine. And the present Bulma had insisted that the entire family be there to welcome her in the front yard.

"I'm not going to protect you or anything. Quite honestly, I'm looking forward to watching you get chewed out by the woman." Vegeta said to Trunks. Trunks only shook his head.

"My plan isn't for you to 'protect' me, though that would be nice and all. Actually, I'm hoping that Mom will see you and be so overcome with memories and love and whatnot that she'll completely forget to yell at me." Trunks explained. Vegeta sniggered.

They watched as Mirai Bulma exited the machine. The two Saiyans were standing near the back of the crowd of people. The 'crowd' was Bulma, her parents and Yamcha, who was still living at Capsule Corps., as he and Bulma had come to an understanding since the breakup.

The future Bulma looked extremely surprised at the people there to welcome her, and Trunks even noticed a few tears running down her face as she hugged her parents.

"She looks good…" Vegeta mused aloud, casing Trunks to stare incredulously at him. Vegeta caught the look. "For her age, I mean." He quickly added, then turned away from the boy to stop any further humiliation. Trunks rolled his eyes, and turned his attention back to his mother.

Mirai Bulma had moved on from her parents and was now talking heartedly to Yamcha. Far too soon after, she looked to the two Saiyan Princes. Smiling lightly, she approached them.

"Hello Vegeta." She said, cocking her head to the side. Vegeta looked past her to _his_ Bulma, who was shooting him a 'be nice or I'll kill you in your sleep' look. He sighed.

"Hello wo- er…Bulma." Both Bulmas smiled while Trunks and Yamcha sniggered, which earned all four of them an angry glare- Yamcha and Trunks especially.

"Trunks…" Bulma turned her head to look at her son.

"Hi Mom." The youth said meekly, making to inch a bit farther behind his father. Bulma rolled her eyes.

"You can stop trying to run from me, kid. I'm going to save the inevitable 'talk' we're going to have until AFTER I see what you did to my time machine." Bulma said with an icy glare. Trunks gulped, nodding, while Vegeta chuckled.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Later on in the night, Trunks was up in his room, desperately trying to make his ears function properly. Bulma had given him the yelling at of a lifetime, and his poor ears took the brunt of the pain.

Bulma herself was in the kitchen, talking to…herself.

"So," Present Bulma started, "How long do you plan to stay here?" Future Bulma looked thoughtful.

"Oh, I dunno. It's only going to take about a week to fix the time machine…" She mused.

"Well," P. Bulma said, grinning. "You could always stay until the baby's born. Not to be selfish, but in case there's anything wrong with the pregnancy, I mean, who better to help me than someone who delivered the same baby?"

F. Bulma laughed. "I see your point, but I can't really stay that long. The longer I'm here, the more damage to the time-space continuum I cause. Same with Trunks. But don't worry. There shouldn't be a problem with delivering the little guy."

P. Bulma nodded, but still looked unsettled. F. Bulma caught her look. "Don't worry. He may seem uncaring about the whole thing, but when Trunks is born, you'll see a new side to Vegeta none of us could even fathom."

Present Bulma blushed, telling her future counterpart that she had hit the nail on the head. Future Bulma continued talking. "And don't worry. We'll leave that phone here, so if there are any problems, we're only a phone call away!"

"Thank you." P. Bulma said meekly, giving a small smile to herself. F. Bulma smiled back encouragingly.

Maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to handle her Saiyan Prince.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Do you have to go? It feels like you just got here!" Present Bulma cried while Future Bulma started up the time-machine.

"Woman, she DID just get here! It's only been 4 days!"

"Ugh! Shut up, Vegeta!"

Trunks snickered at them, causing both Bulmas and Vegeta to glare at him. He quickly stopped laughing.

"Why does Trunks have to leave too? He's just going to have to come back anyway!" Bulma cried again, hoping to get _someone_ to stay. Trunks shook his head.

"I don't want to be away from home more than I have to." He said sadly, his thoughts obviously with the Androids. Both Bulmas nodded, feeling sorry for the child who almost literally had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Oh! Bulma! I wanted to talk to you for a second!" The future one said to the present one, quickly pulling her away from Trunks and Vegeta.

Once the women were out of earshot, Vegeta turned to his son.

"As far as anyone concerned, me and Bulma don't know who you are until you tell everyone when you come back." He said quickly. Trunks looked taken aback.

"O-okay." He said, nodding, but not really understanding.

"Don't look at me. It was the woman's crazy idea. She thought it would be 'fun' to act ignorant."

Trunks chuckled. Vegeta gave him a smirk.

"And…when you come back…don't…don't take anything I say seriously when the others are there. To everyone else, you're just another person to me. But…" He trailed off, not wanted to admit anything he didn't have to.

Trunks nodded. "I know, Dad. I know."

Soon enough, both Bulmas came back, giggling and shooting looks at Vegeta, making him send them a suspicious glare.

"Well, bye then!" Bulma said, jumping into one time machine. With a wave, she was off. Trunks turned to his parents.

"So…I'll see you in just under a year…" Trunks said. Bulma smiled.

"Yep…unless you count about 6 months from now." She said, patting her stomach. Trunks smiled.

"See ya." He said, jumping into his newly fixed time-machine and taking off.

_The End_

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Epilogue.

Trunks yelped as the time-machine made a crash landing. "Mom is going to kill me." He said, as he exited the rubble. He looked around.

Where the hell was he?? He could hear voices off in the distance. He flew towards them.

The Z Fighters? Why were they all there?? Piccolo turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, and Goku started flying towards him.

Wait a minute. He was wearing that same outfit he was wearing when Trunks first came to the past.

"Hey! Trunks! What're you doing here? I thought you had just left!"

Trunks' eyes widened. Oh no.

"No! Not again!" he cried, falling to his knees while Goku stood over him, confused.

A good 22 years in the future from where her son was, Mirai Bulma sat sipping a cup of coffee.

"That'll teach him to break my time-machine."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Buahahaa. Devious Bulma.**

**Well, another story done. Hope you enjoyed!**

**In other news to any one who reads my other fics: You may have to wait a LONG time for updates. As life likes to screw with people (me especially) all my new fics have recently been deleted because my computer sucks. So, the greatest story I have written so far, the sequel to the greatest story I have written so far, my sequel to A Son to Be Proud of, all new chapters to already uploaded fics, and general ideas to my works in progress are GONE! For more info, see my profile.**

**See ya, and don't forget to review!  
**


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Dragon Ball Z, Humor, Romance